


Rubies and teardrops

by SmileDesu



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Grief, Mourning, Remembrance, the forehead thing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-27
Updated: 2014-12-27
Packaged: 2018-03-03 21:53:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2889248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SmileDesu/pseuds/SmileDesu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Loss experienced is never far from one's heart and mind. Hopefully, those around you can be there for you when you need them</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rubies and teardrops

Hair held up in a bun; a touch of mascara; her pair of lighter boots and a shawl around her legs that seemed like a skirt, flowing down in a darker shade of blue from her pale blue top; tight-fitting sleeves that left her feeling self-conscious of her muscular arms. The person staring back at her from the mirror was one Korra almost didn't recognize, but still she smiled, feeling giddy and excited. Attire this feminine was something she didn't don too often, and she knew her girlfriend wouldn't mind what she wore so long as it passed the dress code of wherever it was Asami got them reservations to, but Korra also knew Asami loved it when she dressed up like that, and she felt like surprising her partner. Granted, that sort of enthusiasm had a tendency of backfiring for her, so when she looked at the clock, her grin dimmed noticeably. She was early, enough that she couldn't already head out, not enough to actually do anything else - least of all in that outfit. Of course, option #1 to begin with was fully dependant on her date, whose place she was staying at and therefore wouldn't leave without. A quick glance through her room revealed nothing that could even hold her attention without destroying her clothes, and so Korra concluded surprising Asami in her room was as good as surprising her at the entrance, and went to do exactly that.  
Though they often shared a room and a bed, Asami still set Korra up with her own room for workout sessions and meditation. It also proved useful when the two needed to get ready to leave the house, and let them avoid getting in each other's way. That left Korra with a short walk down the hall before she was before the door standing between her and her lover. She found herself stalling briefly, running her hand over both her clothes and hair before knocking.  
  
"A~Sa~Mi~" She purred as she opened the door, not waiting for a response yet not opening it enough to even look in, either. "Can I get a look at you, Beautiful?" She teased in a low voice, an act that made her feel sheepish. It was a wasted effort, on top of it all, as no reply came. Was Asami still washing up, Korra wondered and pushed the door open a bit more.  
"Asami?" She asked before frowning. Something was wrong...  
  
"C-come in..."  
  
Definitely wrong, if the hoarse quality evident in Asami's voice was any indication. Korra opened the door completely and stepped inside. The room was as tidy as Korra came to expect it to be, not sterile but in a league of its own compared to her own lair. Hanging off one of the closet doors was the dress Asami was no doubt planning to wear, a wonder of dressmaking in shades of purple. Asami herself was sitting by the dresser, still in her bathing robe with a towel wrapped around her hair. Postponing the inevitable, Korra decided to hang onto trivial concerns first.  
  
"You're still not ready at all?!" Korra exclaimed, not accusing as much as voicing her confusion, and more importantly, concern. Asami wiped her eyes with a tissue, letting Korra fully register what it was she walked in on - Asami was crying. Korra closed the door behind her and approached, not rushing to Asami's side as to give her a moment to regain her composure. Another gasp left the engineer before she blew her nose into the tissue. Korra let her finish with that before finally feeling comfortable enough to establish contact. She rested her hand on Asami's shoulder, squeezing gently. It wasn't the first time she's seen Asami in tears, and it broke her heart as badly as it did all the other times, but she forced herself to fight the urge to crush her in a hug. Something told her that wasn't what her partner needed, at least not yet.  
  
"What's wrong?" She asked softly instead, and once Asami looked up at her she brought her free hand to her cheek. Asami closed her eyes and tilted her head into the touch, her own hand resting over Korra's. Korra's frown deepened before she realized Asami was holding something in her other hand, over her lap. She looked down to find a pair of earrings resting over Asami's palm, beautiful rubies dangling off elegant silver chains.  
  
"Your earrings...?"  
  
Asami nodded before turning her attention to the dresser. Korra let go of her face before turning to look as well. One of Asami's jewelry boxes was resting next to the mirror, its content half spilled over the dresser.  
  
"I was trying to decide what- what to wear today..." She explained weakly and looked back at the earrings. Her eyes filled with tears again and she closed her hand.  
"When I was little, I liked to mess around with my toys. Dolls, gadgets, you name it, I took it apart and put it back together," she said in a soft voice. Korra watched her silently, not moving even when Asami pulled the towel off her head, letting her damp hair fall over her shoulders and Korra's hand which was still there. "One day I took apart some toy cars and put them together to make a robot. It could hardly stand, let alone walk, but my dad--" Her voice cracked and she pursed her lips. A squeeze of her shoulder made her look up, her eyes meeting Korra's worry-filled ones. "He was so _proud_... he took me out for lunch in my favorite restaurant and then we went to a jewelry shop. 'To commemorate your first engineering work', he said. There were so many other things that would've better fit a girl my age, but..." She opened her hand, eyes set on the red gems. "There was something about the way they caught the light, and I--"  
The rest of the sentence was swallowed by a gasp. Asami's eyes watered again, her lower lip quivering. That was as much as Korra could take. She pulled Asami against her, buying her face against her stomach. One hand on her back, she buried the other in Asami's hair. Asami resisted none of it, letting Korra pull her into the awkward embrace. She cried into Korra's shirt, the emotions that accumulated finally finding an outlet with none but the Avatar keeping her safe from the world. Korra kept silent, knowing not what to say that could ease her partner's sorrow. All she could do was stand there, listen to the wailing and hold Asami close until she was done. It seemed like an eternity before that happened but it finally did, with Korra suddenly realizing Asami's shoulders stopped rocking under her hands. She kept half hugging her even when she pulled away, wanting to show her continued support without being restricting. Asami still didn't look up, her eyes set on her hand which still held onto a handful of Korra's shirt. Whatever she saw there made her frown so Korra looked down as well. She found several wet spots adorning her shirt, and felt like her heart stopped. Those were Asami's tears...  
  
"I left a- a wet spot..." Asami whispered in what Korra recognized as an attempt at humor. She studied Asami's expression while Asami wiped her eyes before ultimately deciding to play along.  
  
"What, this?" She asked nonchalantly and with a wave of her hand the salty liquid separated itself from her clothes. Another flick of her wrist and the small bubble evaporated, making Korra grin. "There, _all_ better."  
Her breath hitched at the small yet honest smile Asami offered her at her antics. The engineer then leaned back, her eyes widening slightly as for the first time since Korra walked in she got a proper look at her.  
  
"You look _amazing_."  
  
"What, this?" Korra asked and turned left and right to give Asami a better view of her outfit. "Just some old thing I had lying around."  
  
"I'm _sure_." Asami teased before pulling another tissue from the dispenser on her dresser to wipe her eyes again with. It made Korra drop the act.  
  
"Too bad about the 'nowhere to go' part, though."  
  
Asami was in the middle of blowing her nose, so she delayed at voicing her confusion at the statement.  
"What do you mean?"  
  
Korra hesitated, trying to decide how best to continue. "Well... do you still want to go out? I'm fine either way, it's up to you." She offered, and while Asami seemed thoughtful, she couldn't exactly keep quiet. "Just say the word, I'll call and say some unexpected Avatar-business came up. I'm pretty sure all my favorite places in Republic City are used to it by now."  
  
Asami let out one of her silent chuckles, no more than an outtake of breath, but Korra still caught on and it felt like nothing short of a victory. Still there was little humor in Asami's eyes when she finally looked up.  
"No, I _want_ to go out. We promised, and I could use some fresh air."  
  
Korra nodded before resting her hand over Asami's cheek. "Ok, it's your call." She replied before looking at Asami's still-closed fist. "...can you do one thing for me, first?"  
Asami blinked up before looking down when Korra placed her hand over the one of Asami's holding the earrings. "Wear them?" She asked, eyes warm as they gazed into Asami's, which began tearing up again. Asami inhaled slowly before looking away at her dress on the other side of the room.  
  
"They won't match..." She looked up at Korra when she felt her squeezing her hand. The girl was shaking her head.  
  
"They're _perfect_."  
  
There was very little Asami had to counter that with, so she simply nodded, a tiny smile on her lips. "You _should_ call the restaurant, though." she said after a moment and wiped her eyes for what Korra hoped would be the last time. "I'd like to wash my hair again, and my face is a mess I'll need to paint up..."  
  
"Still looking good to me~" Korra purred playfully and cheered inside - Asami smiled again. "...but sure, I'll let them know some _minor_ Avatar-business came up. I'll come back after to help you dry your hair." She held her hand up and willed a small orb of winds to dance above it. Asami huffed before pushing herself up. The air vortex faded just before Asami took Korra's hand. Their eyes met, and the kiss that followed was tender though demanding. Korra let Asami kiss her this  
way until she reassured herself this person was still by her side, and then stood still when Asami broke the kiss, only to press their foreheads together. It was warm and comfortable, but Asami did say she wanted to go out, and that's exactly what Korra was going to do.  
  
"Alright, I've a phone call to make, and you have hair to wash."  
  
"Yes, ma'am."  
  
It was harder than expected, letting go of Asami's hand, but Korra did so regardless. She was halfway across the room when Asami called out to her.  
  
"You really are amazing, you know that?"  
  
Grinning, Korra spun around and summoned the lightest of breezes to make her shawl dance around her. "Take me out and show me off!"  
  
It was Asami's laughter Korra had escorting her out, but still she came to a stop once the door was closed behind her, her hand tightly gripping the handle. Oh, how she wished she could do more, completely erase Asami's pain, yet she knew not even the Avatar could bring back the dead. She thus went to make that phone-call, determined to do whatever was in her power as a young woman, a young lover, to do.


End file.
